Falling in Love (and trying to woo him)
by Tizumisu
Summary: Ringabel tries to win over the affections of Tiz with some advice from a few girls. ( Ringabel/Tiz )


So came the inevitable day that Ringabel realized the comfortable feelings towards Tiz were not what they seemed. Immediately, he went to his friends for help.

"Hm? Ringabel? Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"When you like someone, what do you do?"

Airy stiffened in shock, caught off-guard by the inquiry. She shouldn't be, considering he'd fall for any woman that crossed his path, and she would have dismissed him with a quick blow to his knees if it weren't for the desperate and weak tone in his voice. Relieved he wasn't trying to bother her with his trash-talk that he calls "sexy", she replied, "Maybe you should give her a gift."

Ringabel groaned and held his face with a gloved hand. "Yeah, alright. I'll get her a pair of socks from the nearest Inn."

"Idiot; I meant something romantic."

"Like what?"

"Flowers...? How am I supposed to know; I'm not a human that engages in romance."

Huh, flowers. Seemed pretty cliché and odd to be heard from Airy, but it was Airy's advice, and if Ringabel wanted any chance of winning Tiz over, he'd might as well use any help he gets. No matter how odd or useless it may seem (seeing as how it's coming form a cryst-fairy the size of Ringabel's hand). And so the pompadour found himself holding a bouquet of assorted roses, lilies, and any other wild bloom that he managed to pry out of the dirt.

Then the blond found himself holding the floral arrangement behind his back, with a variety of colorful petals drifting down to the ground that revealed his intentions.

"Ringabel?" Tiz asked as he opened the door only to meet Ringabel's shy eyes.

So Ringabel brought out his armful of flowers, face growing red as he glanced at Tiz from around them. "Good afternoon, Tiz."

"Um— oh, yeah. Good afternoon," the brunet replied in greeting. He glanced at the fragrant bouquet Ringabel held. The younger of the two quirked a brow in question as Ringabel eagerly handed him the flowers. Accepting the gift with a confused smile, he laughed softly and questioned, "Heh, what's all this for? I thought these were for someone like Edea." Tiz had his suspicions, but he'd like to hear it from Ringabel himself. "Oh I get it. You're pranking me, right?"

"These flowers are not just for anyone, per se, my dear Tiz."

Tiz blinked. "Huh?"

"They're for you."

"You're joking."

Ringabel cleared his throat with a weak "ahem" before tugging at his collar nervously. "Well, Tiz, I— you see, this is not just a joke— you could brighten up this room of yours, yes? It's awfully drab in here," he replies teasingly, ending up commenting on a horrible subject. To fortify his point he pretended to look around Tiz's room and made a sarcastic expression of mock disgust. "It would be nice to awaken to a fresh breath of nature's gift."

Tiz tilted his head in false understanding. "Uh huh..." Ringabel must be having an off day, and the younger male made no further comments.

Sometimes Ringabel was just plain weird.

* * *

The next morning, Ringabel still bore an aromatic, floral scent and was a little woozy from sneezing pollen and petals through the night.

It was during breakfast when Agnès suggested, while feeding him spoonfuls of medicine, "I'm not sure how you wouldn't use your technique, but the farthest you've gotten is a slap in the face. I think what most women like is clothing— even I'm fond of the occasional window display or two."

So Ringabel tried his luck and right after his many intakes of medicinal herbs, he climbed onto the higher level of Grandship to haggle prices with the shopkeepers.

The male's dilemma with choosing something that fit Tiz (in appearance and size) haunted him the rest of the afternoon until he settled for a rather effeminate piece of attire, but Ringabel founs himself repeating "cute" over and over in his head. Successfully buying the clothing, he requested for Agnès to help a little with sewing intricate designs on it, but what the vestal failed to notice was that the design mimicked the Norende symbol on Tiz's own clothing.

Later, when their work was finished, the blond rushed over to Tiz's quarters and knocked softly on his door. "I'm comin' in," Ringabel whispered, a smile gracing his face.

He found Tiz sprawled on his bed, playing with and tossing the rose petals from yesterday all over his mattress. Ringabel's entrance caused him to brush the petals off his blanket and he smiled in greeting. "Oh, Ringabel—" he managed to say before the garment in his friend's hands caught his attention. "That... it has the..."

Tiz glanced at his shoulder to meet the pattern of his own clothing.

Once more, Mister Amnesia presented the gift to his beloved, earning an eager, awed stare. Whether Tiz was relentful, cautious of the gift, or amused, Ringabel wasn't sure.

"Whoa— it is pretty... uhm, cute," Tiz commented sheepishly, eyes directed towards the garment. "But how did you— where did you—"

"I sewed the pattern myself. I went shopping before, and I thought you might like this."

"So... this... it's for... me?"

Ringabel nodded his head, a joyful smile on his face. "As always."

"I don't know how to thank you," Tiz replied, holding his gift close to his chest. He ran his hands over the soft fabric and a small grin broke out on his features. "Thanks, Ringabel."

"No problem!"

The younger of the two males met Ringabel's eyes, and if Ringabel tried, he could see a mixture of compassion, appreciation, and if he were very hopeful, admiration. He almost gasped when Tiz warmly wrapped his arms around him, and he embraced him back. "I mean it, Ringabel. No one's really given me things like this before."

And so, when Ringabel left Tiz's room, his cheeks were red and his face hurt from the wide and satisfied smile on his face.

* * *

"Get 'er somethin' that's edible," Edea suggested around a mouthful of crisp apple pie. "Girls like food. I can prove it."

Ringabel didn't need Edea's clarification (because he believed her well enough). He felt a little doubtful, however, when Edea dragged him off to Ancheim, which earned them a long, squeaky protest from Airy. Irritated, Edea swatted the cryst-fairy away as she led Ringabel through Ancheim's market stalls stock full with all kinds of exquisite foods.

"How about this?" Edea chanted with a gleeful grin. She directed her index finger at a rather... ominous-looking dish. "It looks good."

"How about no. Ti— _she_ doesn't like spicy foods," Ringabel answered, directing a badly concealed look of disgust to the platter.

The templar's daughter shrugged and continued leading her escort around the town. "Why don't you get her the stretchy ice-cream?" Edea said, looking at another stall with wide eyes. "I mean, we never tried it either, so think of this as an opportunity—"

Ringabel would've smacked her upside the head for her constant food daydreaming, but he thought better about it. "Alright, milady. Four stretchy ice-creams to go, my dear Edea?" he asked, fishing out the sack of gold he kept in his pocket.

"Ew, no. Put your wallet away," she replied, stealing a quick glance at the taller male. "I'm paying. Also, six ice-creams."

"Six?" Ringabel asked, baffled.

"Yes, six, idiot. Close your mouth. Two for me," she shot a cunning stare at Ringabel, "one for Agnès, one for you, one for Airy although I'm not sure why, and one for your mystery girl."

"What about Tiz?"

Edea giggled at the mention of Tiz's name and she poked Ringabel's nose softly. "He _is_ the mystery girl, isn't he?"

The older man sighed, suddenly feeling sick.

Later that day, Ringabel welcomed himself into Tiz's room, inhaling the scent of the air (that still reeked of lilies and roses). "Hey Tiz," he greeted, looming over the shorter male, who was engrossed in a book of some sort. "I got you something in Ancheim."

"Not more clothes, I assume. I don't want you spending so much money..."

"Not at all!"

Tiz eyed the ice-cream suspiciously as Ringabel handed it to him, and he poked it with his index finger, feeling how it wobbled and didn't melt immediately. "Hey! This is the stretchy ice-cream Agnès was talking about, right?" he asked, taking a small lick out of it and deciding how it tasted. "... it's so... _weird_," he added, laughing gently. His smile brought an even wider smile to Ringabel's face.

But it felt like he wasn't doing enough. _Maybe_, he thought, _I should start following my own advice_.

* * *

Ringabel yawned as he flung his jacket to the ground beside the bed, too lazy to hang it on it's usual peg beside his door. The day, nonetheless, was productive, but ideas of how he could seduce Tiz still raced through his mind unrelenting. As the blond settled into a comfortable position in his bed, there was a small knock at the door, so soft it was a miracle that Ringabel could hear it.

"Come 'n," he answered without moving from his spot.

The door creaked open and frightened eyes peeked through the crack. "Ringabel?" Tiz called softly, his voice near to a whisper. "Can I sleep here?"

"Mm," the blond replied, eyes directed towards the smaller male as he tiptoed into the room, shutting the door behind him. "Another nightmare?" Ringabel didn't have to ask; it was purely obvious (and a little expected). He reached over to snuff out the candle so that both he and Tiz could get much needed rest, but he thought better about extinguishing the only light source in the room.

Tiz bore an unimpressed stare as he slipped into the bed, the dark circles under his eyes becoming a little more visible by the poor lighting in the room.

"Why don't you sleep with Agnès? Or Edea?"

"People might suspect things. Besides, I'm used to sleeping with you when I get a nightmare."

Ringabel smiled to himself as he stole a glance at Tiz. He seemed so small, so frail and fragile in the dim contrast; the nightmares really have weakened him both physically and emotionally. "What're you looking at?" he asked as he snuggled into the blankets.

"Nothin'. Forget it."

"Something wrong?"

_Yes_, Ringabel wanted to scream. _Yes_. "No. Go to bed," he answered, pulling the covers over his body, but still facing Tiz. He stiffened when the younger male shot him an accusing glance, and Ringabel groaned as he winced. Tiz chuckled, looking somewhat amused as Ringabel admitted, "Fine, but it's not important."

"It's not healthy to keep things to yourself, y'know," Tiz said, a cheeky grin on his face.

Ringabel steeled his nerve, embarrassed that Tiz was laughing at his misery. His hushed whisper came out as a rather irritated hiss, as he responded, "I just... ARGH! I like you, alright? Go to bed!"

"I like you as well. So what's bothering you?"

The older of the two was about to scream and explode in red-hot embarrassment before he paused, eyeing Tiz with an shocked stare. He covered his face defensively before muttering, his voice stifled, "No, Tiz. I like you, as in, love _love _you. I have romantic feelings towards you."

Tiz laughed softly, placing a hand on Ringabel's head, running his fingers through his hair. He sounded strangely amused as he whispered, "I know that."

"What do you mean, you know? Why are you laughing at me?" Ringabel's heart drooped when he heard Tiz laugh; was he laughing at him?

"Hm, I'm not laughing at you, idiot," Tiz said, pressing his body against Ringabel's. "You're so dumb. Best friends don't just constantly fuss over each other. Besides, I liked having someone watch out for me for a while. And also, I heard from a certain baby bird about your exploits."

Removing his hands form his face, the blond grimaced. Edea; Ringabel was going to kill her. But Ringabel was brought back to reality from his thoughts when a small hand wrapped around his hips and tugged him forwards. Catching onto the feeling, Ringabel also embraced Tiz, and he felt soft lips brush up against his own. "Ringabel, I didn't care about the gifts. You had me from the start," Tiz murmured, leaning forwards to peck Ringabel gently.

The blond could feel the heat from Tiz's blushing face, and he imagined himself blushing just as red.

And Ringabel continued the movement, leaning forwards to once again capture Tiz's lips.

At one point, Tiz bit down on Ringabel's bottom lip while the shared their affections, and Ringabel found himself pinning Tiz to the bottom of the bed.

It was going to be a long night; yet Ringabel wouldn't ask for any more.


End file.
